Mainland Chinese working in Hong Kong have found a way to use “free money” from local banks to invest in profitable financial products across the border.

They take advantage of cheap personal loans aggressively hawked by banks in an attempt to expand their business. The borrowers quietly turn around and invest the cash on the mainland for higher returns.

Before Santa Claus visits Hong Kong this Christmas, a mainland firm in the “death care” business aims to go public in the city, offering investors the gift of a rare opportunity to make some quick cash, bankers say.

Some of the top investment bankers in Hong Kong have chosen to leave a high-flying career in the financial industry and return to more traditional businesses, such as real estate and trade, fuelling doubts about the attractiveness of investment banking jobs in the future.

During a recent discussion with business school students at Tsinghua University the question arose as to whether real estate prices would fall if populations began declining. This is certainly likely, yet it is still just one possibility, and the notion that fewer people leads to lower property prices is not always destiny.

If you are looking to invest, you might be wondering what are the top performing funds? We can answer that. Using data from research firm Lipper, we list the best funds available in Hong Kong, ranked by returns net of fees, over the 12 months to February.

German-American billionaire Nicolas Berggruen and two Portuguese partners plan to spend as much as €1 billion (HK$10 billion) on real estate in the country, though they're not expecting to make a quick return.

Banks need to set aside more money to cover bigger potential losses on commercial real estate and from the euro area, possible fines for mis-selling and stricter risk models, the Bank of England said following a report by the Financial Services Authority.

Two days after a Chinese real estate agency, whose location was not disclosed, advertised an investors' tour in Detroit, thousands of people have expressed interest, according to a report in the People's Daily. The same agency is advertising a tour to the US east coast in April, which costs 25,000 yuan and will take investors to Washington DC, Boston and New York City.

Young people struggling with staggering property prices could live in shipping containers stacked beneath flyovers, a campaign has suggested. Pressure group Underneath Flyover Action launched a campaign yesterday to seek community support for the idea.

After showing early signs of a pickup last fall, online real estate services firm Soufun is sending even stronger signals that springtime may indeed be coming for companies that make their money from buying and selling activity in the property market.